"Meet. Eat. Play. Stay." That's the motto at Reno's "CommRow," the 16-story, 60,000 square foot complex that opened downtown in 2011 right next to the arch as the biggest little city's premier "urban adventure destination" (i.e. a "non-gaming," "non-smoking" anti-casino funpark).

Not only is the world's tallest climbing wall (164 ft.) plastered to its facade, but inside, this place is stuffed silly with a 7,000 square-foot bouldering park, two live music venues, a cabaret-themed nightclub, and eleven different food and beverage "vignettes." (A martini bar! A tequila bar! A juice bar! Oh my!).

[Ed Note: While everyone else was gambling in Las Vegas, Hotel Maven Dzot decided to check out the scene in Reno. So this week we are bringing you his reports from Nevada's other big little city. Enjoy.]

Reno bills itself as the Biggest Little City in the World. It's often thought of as Las Vegas North. Well, speaking as a confirmed Vegas junky, I was ready to have a good laugh at that claim. But, you know, Reno does OK. Style and attitude-wise, the Vegas Strip it ain't. It's somewhat like downtown Vegas in that it is well downscale (and even seedy in parts) when compared to the glitter at the corner of Flamingo and Las Vegas Blvd., but it's not without its charms.

First off, what might be termed the Reno strip is small-ish. The only really big complex is a co-joined casino threesome of Silver Legacy, the El Dorado, and Circus Circus. Stay at one and you have easy access to all three.

The Silver Legacy, where I was staying, was the central of the three properties. The first thing you notice is that just off the lobby, there is huge, multi-story Victorian era contraption serving as its centerpiece. The device had no obvious function at first glance; it was just an enormous concoction of giant gears and lever arms and pulleys. It looked like a prop from League of Extraordinary Gentlemen or a time machine as imagined by a contemporary of Jules Verne or H.G. Wells.